I have three days before my little job of keeping Sasuke Uchiha occupied so that Izumi can spend time with Itachi. She better be a really good teacher to make it worth it. Either way, until then, I have some time off. Still, with the promise of a shurikenjutsu teacher, I'll ignore it for a bit and focus on my chakra control once again.

The thing is, I am stuck as to where to practice. Going to the back hills... given everything... It feels wrong. So I am now in search of a training spot until I feel alright about the back hills again.

A training ground really wouldn't work, the likelihood of me getting caught being too high. So I've decided to go exploring.

I know my neighbourhood really well, inside and out really, so well that the minimap can a show me right where different individual trees are.

Mini Map Proficiency level 19

A small map in corner of your vision that will adjust naturally to direction. Uses your memory, sensory skills, and other ways of perceiving the world to construct a simple 2D map for you to use. Can expand it, zoom in or out based on your preference. When not active will be in corner of your vision. Detail and accuracy increases per level.

However, beyond the compounds, I've explored and the route I take to the academy? The large village of Konoha is a mystery beyond the maps I've seen. A mystery I intend to uncover to see.

There are a few places I want to visit that I haven't. The other compounds, of course, are one, but there is more than that. Konoha may not be a 'tourist hot spot,' but it does have some sights to be sure. Isn't there that whole thing of residents never going to the must-see sites in their own town/city? I don't want to do that, yet I have no idea how in the world I will figure out what these sorts of spots are, or if they even exist.

I walk through the streets at a pleasant pace. The sun is in the sky, but it is a little cloudy. The type of day that Shikamaru would love. I am wandering outside of my comfort zone, but I need to be careful. After all, Konoha may be a ninja village, but it is more like a city, and all cities have some not-so-nice neighbourhoods. I'd rather avoid those until such a point that I can defend myself. I keep a keen eye on the people around me, profiling them to the best of my abilities and trying to improve my awareness. Looking for the tiny details that I may usually miss, looking for the signs of a tourist. The further I move through the village towards the more business spots like the Hokage tower or where I know from the map the main gate is, the more of such people I see.

It makes sense that in the shinobi trade, we are, at the end of the day, mercenaries for hire, more or less, at least from an outsider's point of view. Those that don't belong, the foreigners, stick out A LOT.

Their clothes are different. Their accents are heavy, some in such ways I have never heard. Then again, I've only really met people from the land of fire in this life, haven't I? Well, if you don't count my other life as Paige. When was the last time that I thought about myself as Paige instead of Sayori? They aren't really different people, though, are they? Yet they are so entirely different at the same time.

From what I can see, I am disappointed. All the tourists are going to buy missions and then to a hotel. No tourist spots. It's annoying, but it makes sense. Less chances for spies, right?

Eventually, I give up my search around midday to look for less touristy spots and just regular spots. There are many parks, not nearly as large as Senju park but large just the same. A few have wonderful statues and fountains. The sculptures are rudimentary, usually that of symbols of the land of fire or Konoha. It's a nice day and a good way to pass the time, yet the hairs on the back of my head are all standing up. My sensing is whirling around me, yet at the same time, I can't pick up anything?

Sensing Profiency Level has risen X1

I can feel someone watching me… do I have a stalker? That will make things interesting. I feel a tiny flicker barely even registering… but it is there… or is it more than one? Would the Hokage actually send an Anbu squad or a squad of any ninja to watch a six-year-old girl?

I can't help it either way… so I may as well have fun with it. Let's see if I can pull an impossible Naruto situation and ditch this stalker.

POV Kakashi Hatake

I jump down next to my colleague with an eye smile.

"C-captain?" The man asks, and even though he is older than me, he is intimidated. We aren't in ANBU uniform, so I can quickly tell just how surprised he really is to see me.

"Yo," I say with an eye smile. In any other situation, I would be concerned with why a full-grown member of ANBU is stalking a small child when not on missions, but I don't really have a leg to stand on, given I do something somewhat similar in my time off as well. Well, I have… ever since then… wait… is this the same?… huh… half of me thought she was a figment of my imagination or a ghost/spirit that sensei, Kushina, Rin, and Obito sent.

What with the ghost-like complexion and deep sorrowful eyes. Plus…. I may have been drunk…. Like really drunk. But to be fair, we lost someone on our squad that week and then with the festival, it was just way too much to handle, so I wanted an escape. Even if it didn't help that much since I drank the civilian stuff instead of the shinobi variety. (Since those with large chakra capacities metabolize alcohol differently than civilians with tiny chakra pools)

"What are…?" Raido begins to say, seemingly caught between wanting to deny everything and being really confused.

"I was in the area. So… what did she do to earn all this… special attention?" I ask because I will either be writing a report on this or ignoring it. Either way, I want my answers, and then I want to go back to spying on Naruto, well, technically spying on his apartment, since I can deny that spending time on the roof of the opposing building to his as being circumstantial. Besides, I think the Hokage may be finally coming around to the idea of letting me actually talk to him. I asked not that long ago, a little after the festival and was turned down, but with all this… recent excitement… he may just change his mind.

'I may never get my old family back. However, families are meant to grow, and they wouldn't want me to be alone.' The voice whispers in my ear along with at strange eerie melody she was playing. I really did think she was a figment of my imagination… yet here I am, looking at her, while also giving a bit of a glare to my fellow stalker teammate.

"She…" Raido says and pauses as though unsure what to answer. "There's just something about her… I can't quite… put my finger on it… but what she says…" Raido tries to explain, and though in any other context it would seem completely and totally crazy, in this context it… well, it makes sense. I wonder what the kid said to him? Was it a wake-up call like my own little discussion? Does she have some talent for changing the worldview of ANBU? Or is that just a coincidence?

I eye the girl with a bit of skepticism. She really doesn't look like much. She looks… harmless… tiny… childish. She looks like in her wandering a lost child needing directions, but as you look closer, they are an analyzing quality to her gaze. Curious... suddenly, the girl begins to sprint down an alleyway, weaving left and right. Her chakra signature shrinks. I may be no sensor, but I can still sense chakra. Almost all join in can to some extent. Is she doing it on purpose? Questioning aside, I follow Raido. She pauses and changes direction, moving one way and then another, then goes into the Akimichi compound. We can't follow her in there… could give the wrong impression. I place a hand on Raido's shoulder. Is this a thing with blonde children escaping ANBU? It makes me think of Minato-sense, and a rising swell of depression begins to consume me. I try to push it aside. I'll go check on Naruto and see if he's home. That will make me feel better. Probably...